


Stand

by Lady Lecter (RoNask)



Category: Hannibal (TV), Hannibal Lecter Series - All Media Types
Genre: AU, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-17
Updated: 2018-02-17
Packaged: 2019-03-20 09:21:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13714704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoNask/pseuds/Lady%20Lecter
Summary: It's all about where we stand with the people we know, Bedelia had always had her loyalties clear.





	Stand

“Are you in love with him?”  
Hannibal observed her expression but found no trace of emotion as she took a sip of her white wine.  
“Is this what you think this is?” he questioned, his tone hard.  
Bedelia showed no interest in his sudden defensiveness, merely sat down in her favourite chair and crossed her legs. “What I think is that you are endangering this agreement, Hannibal. If you wish to have a divorce, we’ll have it but I’ll not watch you destroy yourself, him and everyone around because of your obsession and I will not be the cheated spouse. Now, should I be concerned about your loyalty to this commitment?”  
She almost smiled when she saw a hint of anger in his face, something anyone else would have missed, not her though. She hadn’t spent the last years married to him to not know him, in fact, part of their agreement was made for the exact opposite, she wanted his mind for deep study and they had secrets to keep inside this marriage.  
“You should not” he replied, expression calmer this time.  
“Good”  
“But I had no intention of stepping away from Will’s case”  
“I didn’t expect you to,” she said “What I do expect is for you to keep your word”  
“That I assure you can”  
“Can I? I’ve made a vow as your therapist once and enforced it later as your wife, I have no intention of exposing any of us and I’ll stay for as long as I believe I can trust you to do the same.” her eyes were focused on his. She held herself with elegance and firmness, there was no hesitation or space for doubt in her speech. “You may crack his head open for all I care but if you do it, do it well and control yourself. I have no wish to see either of us behind bars.”  
Hannibal held her gaze intensely and nodded silently before sipping his wine. He was tempted to smile as he saw beyond her cold tone and her façade. Delight went through his veins when he watched her get up to leave, his mind considering just the amount of loyalty she held to him and to this marriage.

 

There is a hint of satisfaction in her expression, perhaps a trace of the feeling that comes before the ‘I told you so’, however, she wouldn’t allow herself such comment, it was beneath her.  
A partnership was probably the best way to describe whatever this relationship had become. It was the one constant thing in the hell of things that had happened lately and he recognized this with certain pride and surprise.  
He was intrigued that she agreed to join him on his run.  
Bedelia’s loyalty was almost limitless. Almost.

 

“Hannibal, we have to talk”  
He made Chilton wait before he looked up, it was nothing Frederick wasn’t expecting but that didn’t mean it wasn’t frustrating.  
“How can I help you, Dr Chilton?” there was a hint of sarcasm in his words.  
“I’m here to talk about your wife,” Chilton said, his expression firm, unwavering and… Sad. Whatever he was here to do he disliked it enough to put his mockery and his ego aside. “I’m honestly sorry, Hannibal”  
A long moment of silence passed, time enough for Frederik to nervously shift weight from one leg to the other before he decided to interrupt whatever Lecter was thinking. “It was the Dragon, he found her.”  
“Thank you, Dr Chilton” was all Lecter said, his tone the coldest Chilton had ever heard and he had hard enough of them.  
Frederick nodded and left deciding that poking such creature now would be of no gain, he would raise his guard and not talk until he decided to.

 

“If you have something to ask, officer Starling, do it”  
The question had been dancing around Clarice’s mind for a while now and her scent had been giving her away for much longer. She analyzed his words, considering what she had to gain and what she had to lose, choosing her own words.  
“You never talk about your wife,” she said, watching him carefully. “Since her death, not a soul heard you speak her name. Of course, there was the incident with Will Graham but…”  
“Mr Graham made a deliberate mistake to act against her, as you know I do not take promises lightly and I made a promise to my wife the day I married her.”  
“So you got the Dragon on Will Graham’s trail”  
“Tell me, Officer Starling, wouldn’t you like to put the men who killed your father in jail? Wouldn’t you use every fibre of your being to bring them to justice?”  
“Yes”  
“We fight with different weapons, my dear, your moral restraints keep you from shooting someone dead without a reason while my restraints merely keep me from avenging the death of my wife with my own hands.”  
Clarice did not fight him. “I’m ashamed that an agent of the law would make use of a trick to get some kind of personal revenge”  
Her words told Lecter more than she probably meant to say and he smiled just enough not to alert her of her slip. “Thank you for your sympathy, my dear.”  
She nodded slowly.  
“Now, Clarice, tell me about your anger”


End file.
